Double Birthday Party

 

 

Whew! One thing about having kids with close together birthdays are big parties!

We doubled up again this year, but with a twist.

Kaebrie invited 3 friends over for a princess party, while Tiff invited 3 friends to go bowling. Then we all joined up together for pizza, cupcakes and ice cream.

Sam was held up in a mandatory meeting, so my neighbor took the boys over until Sam was able to get there (only 15 minutes late).

Here is the 4 year old princess.

And the 6 year old bowler!

The queen and her royal court!  :)

Bailey, Miley and Emily

They made wands as a craft and then marched down the street in a parade while waiting for the boys to return.

I sent Collin with the camera and he said he took a LOT. I guess my definition of a LOT is more than 8 pictures.  :)

Luke and Caleb, his new friends and neighbors.

 

Time to sing!

 

He didn't enjoy us singing to him as much as his sister did.

It took her 6 or 7 blows to get out those candles.

First try

Princess hair!!!!!!!

McKenna is a fellow Spiderman lover and Tiff was THRILLED with her Spiderman presents!

More princess stuff! Jewelry and ponies and more. She couldn't be happier.

Caleb and Legos!

Princess drawing paper with sparkle paints!

The light saber he has wanted for a long time.

Her vanity. She saw one in a magazine and it has been all she has wanted for weeks. I would never buy a brand new one, but for three dollars at the thrift store, I just couldn't pass it up. She LOVED it.

Tiff's big surprise, A trike! Check them out online, I had never seen them before 2 weeks ago when our neighbors showed us. VERY cool!

The princess in all her new stuff!

Is it Ok to be tired?

After driving 524 miles home yesterday, setting up this morning for our PWOC kickoff tomorrow, shopping for food and forgotten last minute items, getting Tiff to school, wrapping presents, cleaning the house, decorating the house and hosting a party, I am TIRED. Collin and Kaitlynn helped a LOT. All they did today was math, but they did a lot of serving. That counts!

One of my best friends had her baby today. I am so thrilled that our little ones will always share a special day!

Welcome to the world Tripp Aaron Hill! We can't wait to be back in Mississippi where we can watch you grow up!

Congratulations Will and Sarah and big sister Kellynn!!!!!

I think it is time to take a hot shower and crash!

What a wonderful, memorable day!

Happy Birthday Kaebrie!

 

Our baby is FOUR!!!!!!!!!

Since I was gone for the long weekend, Kaebrie has not seen me since Thursday night. THis morning, she was VERY excited to see me at home. I gave her a BIG hug and asked her if she knew what today was. She said, "Monday?"

I said, "No, today is September second."

She gasped! "Today is my birthday!!!!!"

"Yes it is," I told her.

She then put her hands on her hips, looked me straight in the eye, and said (and PLEASE read the tone and attitude in the typing),

"Oh, I am SO four. "

What a way to start the day, laughing at my funny baby.  :)

We are so thankful she is a part of our life. Her personality is something we still marvel at. We have never met a child who is so happy all of the time.

Four years ago today we were so thrilled to have another girl, little did we know she would be unlike ANY girl in the Smith household.

What a blessing she is!

Oregon

What a great 4 day vacation we had!

We left here at 7am Friday morning and had a quiet drive the first 3 hours where we reached the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

Well, actually, that wasn't where we went first. We went to the Oregon Trail History Museum.....by mistake. I was very disappointed in the 2 story exhibit, it wasn't at all like I was expecting and what I had heard. We were the only 2 people in the building and I was getting creeped out by all the odd mannequins everywhere. The older ladies that worked there were very very quiet (and very very old) and I was so glad we had not driven over just for this.

After we left and saw a billboard, I realized we were in the WRONG PLACE. I wanted the Interpretive Center, NOT the museum.

This place was FANTASTIC. If you live in or are passing through the area, it would be well worth your time

Kaitlynn thought this was a beautiful place to tie up horses.

How about THIS view?

She was allowed inside the pen with the 2 eleven year old oxen, Ezra and Job.

As we continued our drive, I saw a sign for the scenic highway and we took it. How glad we were that we did!

We discovered some beautiful waterfalls!

The first one we stopped at was named Horsetail Falls.

I was taking pictures of her taking pictures. She looked so cute as she tried different angles.

This was her expression when I got caught.  :)

So beautiful.

We finally arrived at our destination, Lincoln City. It was about a 10 hour drive. Five minutes from the hotel, it started to rain, so we didn't get to go to the beach that night. But the room that Sam found for us was right on the water! We opened those curtains that you see and opened the window, and the ocean was right there! There were no screens on the windows, but we kept them open anyway.

It made a great night for a fire!

The next morning, it was chilly, but it was beach time!

Here is her first visit to the Pacific Ocean!

 

That water was so cold that I think my feet were almost frostbitten. She didn't seem to mind and ran and played and splashed for a few hours.

(Playing with shutter speeds and the shadow)

Playing with the reflection.

 

After leaving the beach to warm up, we wandered downtown for a few hours. We found a arts and crafts show at the community center, then we found a HUGE outlet mall. Not normally a mall person, we had a LOT of fun and even did some shopping!

At 5:00, our friends met us and we went back to the beach.

Here are Kaitlynn and Ariadne. The girls haven't seen each other since before their first birthdays. They hit it off instantly and spent an hour kite flying.

 

The kite was so high, I couldn't get it into the picture.

Here we are at sunset.

The Lewis Family! Stephen and Amy, Ariedne (10), Kyrie (8),

Peter (6), Calvin (4) and Zachary ( 7 months).

I love these next 2 pictures.  :)

The Gulf it isn't, but what a gorgeous place. I am thankful I finally got a chance to see the Oregon coast.

We went back home Saturday night with Stephen and Amy, joined them for church on Sunday morning, then spent the rest of the day visiting and playing.

We had SO MUCH fun.

Monday morning we started the drive back home, stopping at the 2 waterfalls we missed the first time.

More waterfall pictures!!!  :)

This was the big one, with the visitor center and bathrooms!! We hiked up to the bridge so see the view. It was a holiday, but it wasn't overly crowded.

This tree branch looks like an old ladies hand.

This is the view looking back from the bridge we hiked up to.

We passed another sign a few hours later that said to exit for the "Bridge of the Gods".

I thought it would be something photographic, something "natural", but it was this bridge, and since we were in the lane we had to drive over it, not knowing that we would end up in the state of Washington! So, we laughed, took a few pictures and spent 5 whole minutes in Washington, a state I had never been in before.

I love unique road signs, and this one was a great one!

 

I tried to get Kaitlynn to get out of the van and take her picture by the sign, but she was cozy warm and didn't want to.

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC trip.

THANK YOU AMY for letting us come and visit!